Travel Guide To Sao Paulo

The second largest city in the world is equally big on style, from sleek hotels to rooftop hangouts and funky lifestyle stores. São Paulo is South America's New York City. While Buenos Aires has European looks and charm, São Paulo has New World vibrancy and the urgency of a 21st-century metropolis. Global designer labels compete with hip Brazilian brands, celebrity chefs create dazzling cuisine drawing on the city's international influences, and the clubs and bars are packed with people so beautiful, they'd be confined to the catwalk in any other country.

Where to stay in Sao Paulo

EMILIANO

Rua Oscar Freire 384 (00 55 11 3068 4399; www.emiliano.com.br). The 57-room Emiliano hotel, in the Jardins, São Paulo's Knightsbridge, is a hip alternative to the Fasano hotel, see below. The hotel also produces its own CDs and has a resident DJ. There's a helipad for those who can't face the traffic.

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FASANO

Rua Vittorio Fasano 88 (00 55 11 3896 4077; www.fasano.com.br). Nowhere in São Paulo comes close to the Fasano hotel for understated luxury. It is worth a visit just to see the interior, a majestic square space decorated in wood and light-brown suede. Located in Jardins, it has a breathtaking rooftop spa and the Baretto bar hosts a constant stream of jazz stars. £

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HOTEL UNIQUE

Hotel Unique, Avenida Brigadero Luís Antônio, São Paulo, Brazil (00 55 11 3055 4700; fax: 3889 0005; www.hotelunique.com.br). It's safe to say that the Hotel Unique lives up to its name. Located in São Paulo's posh Jardins district, close to Ibirapuera Park, the 95-apartment hotel looms large over the city like an abstract Noah's Ark washed up on shore. Designed by talented Brazilian architect Ruy Ohtake, the Unique is pure drama. Cars ascend a large, circular driveway before reaching sleek, jagged-edged side-doors, where hulking doormen escort guests to the reception - a towering, light-filled atrium with contemporary furniture, modern art and a welcoming glass of chilled Champagne. The all-white bedrooms with wooden floors are unusually shaped and come with plasma TVs and remote-control drapes. The bathrooms open into the main room and turndown service includes freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies. Breakfast, taken in the sun-drenched penthouse restaurant, is a healthy yoghurt-and-fruit affair, while SKYE, the hotel's popular restaurant (it has Continental and Japanese menus), is incorporated into a rooftop space that includes a swanky al fresco bar and a red-tiled, 24-metre pool. The Hotel Unique was featured in The Hot List 2003. £

The best nightlife in Sao Paulo

São Paulo prides itself on its nightlife. Paulistas such as Marky and Patife are probably the most exciting drum-and-bass DJs in the world today. They can be seen on Thursday nights at Lov.e, the best-established club in the city. Rua Pequetita 189 (www.loveclub.com.br).

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Where to shop in Sao Paulo

The city has some fantastic shops, partly because of the growing international success of São Paulo Fashion Week. The most glamorous are situated a block from the Hotel Fasano, on and near Rua Oscar Freire. Stock up on trendy jeans at shops such as M Officer, Ellus, Zoomp and Forum.

Rua Oscar Freire 913 (00 55 11 3084 1500). This concept store houses four floors of funky fashion and gastronomy, flanked on one side by a mock-Rio beach. The new ground-floor Fruit Bank offers fruit 'kits' to tackle everything from cellulite to depression.

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DASLU

Avenida Chedid Jafet (www.daslu.com.br). This lifestyle store is a São Paulo institution and the headquarters of Brazilian style: sales assistants are clad in French maid outfits and personal shoppers are Paulistana socialites. It moves to the larger premises in May 2005.

How to get to Sao Paulo

AIRPORT

São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, 18 miles northeast of São Paulo.